Friday, January 29, 2010

A Little Friday Humor

A little humor for a Friday. Enjoy! (Thanks Melvin!)

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The Pope went on vacation for a few days to visit the rugged mountains of Alaska . He was cruising along the campground in the Pope Mobile when he heard a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods.

He found a helpless Democrat wearing shorts, sandals, a "Vote for Obama" hat and a "Save the Trees" shirt. The man was screaming and struggling frantically, thrashing all about and trying to free himself from the grasp of a 10-foot grizzly bear.

As the Pope watched in horror, a group of Republican loggers wearing "Go Sarah" shirts came racing up.

One quickly fired a 44 magnum slug right into the bear's chest. The two other men pulled the semiconscious Democrat from the bear's grasp. Then using baseball bats, the three loggers finished off the bear.

Two of the men dragged the dead grizzly onto the bed of their pickup truck.

The other tenderly placed the injured Democrat in the back seat.

As they began to leave, the Pope summoned all of the men over to him. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions!" he proudly proclaimed. "I have heard there was bitter hatred between Republican loggers and Democratic environmental activists, but now I've seen with my own eyes that this is not true."

As the Pope drove off, one logger asked his buddies, "Who the heck was that guy?"

"Dude, that was the Pope," another replied. "He's in direct contact with Heaven and has access to all wisdom."

"Well," the logger said, "he may have access to all wisdom, but he doesn't know squat about bear hunting! By the way, is the bait still alive or do we need to go back to Seattle and get another one?"

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Former DC Catholic Schools Seeking Identity

From the Washington Post:

St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in the District's Petworth neighborhood and the Center City Public Charter School next door share a parking lot and the shade of some trees. Until a year-and-a-half ago, they also shared a faith.

But the Archdiocese of Washington gave up control of seven of its financially struggling inner-city schools, stripping down crucifixes and turning the facilities into secular charter schools in three months. Dozens of teachers and hundreds of students departed; 1,000 new students signed up.

To read more, go here.

Blogging on-line w/ Catholic Vote re State of the Union

Had a chance last night to post my comments on the live blog with Catholic Vote during the State of the Union message. It was great.

There were lots of "I"s (I did this, I did that). There were lots of lies. There were lots of class warfare talk. A lot of freebies.

Seventy-five minutes of the same old, same old.

What a failure of a President.

Mr Obama and Mr. Biden, please do the country a favor and resign.


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

How to Save a Catholic School

I wish I had seen this article a month ago, but stumbled just stumbled across it the other day. Although this relies on the local parish to pick up the bulk of the work, it is something that the Diocese really can spearhead and assist with.

While most inner-city schools continue to struggle in a difficult economy, one school — St. Matthew’s in St. Paul — has been experiencing unprecedented growth.

Last year, enrollment at the school increased 30 percent. This year, despite the worst recession since World War II, enrollment continues to grow.

To read more, go here.

Tip of the hat to the Rockin' Traddy.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Help Save Pregnancy Centers

UPDATE (7:30am): Pregnancy centers in Montgomery County that don't employ licensed medical professionals would have to post a sign saying so in their waiting rooms, according to new rules unanimously approved by a County Council committee Monday.

The new rules are an amended version of legislation proposed by Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-at large, that specifically targeted pregnancy centers that don't provide abortions or refer clients for abortions. Trachtenberg said she was worried that those centers were providing false medical information about the consequences of having an abortion, such as linking them with breast cancer.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Montgomery-panel-OKs-new-rules-for-pregnancy-centers-82641962.html#ixzz0dinGmlJ0

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The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) is on the right track in fighting to stop the Montgomery County Council from basically attempting to harass pregnancy centers out of existence.

Please go here and send the MoCo Council a message that you will not tolerate this.

Thanks to our colleague at Restore DC Catholicism.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Catholic Charities of Washington DC honors CCHD

From the Catholic News Agency:

Catholic Charities of the Washington D.C. Archdiocese will join with Catholic Charities USA in honoring Martin Luther King Jr. by sponsoring the first national “Keep the Dream Alive Mass and Award.” The event will be held on Monday, Jan. 18 at St. Aloysius Church in Washington D.C. and will recognize four national figures who have worked to preserve King's legacy, particularly the reduction of poverty.

“As we celebrate our Centennial Year by renewing our commitment to reduce poverty in America, we join the nation in honoring the Rev. Dr. King as a great champion of the struggle to reduce poverty,” said Fr. Larry Snyder, the President of Catholic Charities USA. “We will present this award annually to national figures who inspire the nation to keep the dream alive by their life work of reducing poverty in America.”

Fr. Snyder will present the award to Allison Boisvert, Social Justice Minister for the Pax Christi Catholic Community in Minnesota; Dr. Arturo Chavez, Ph. D, President and CEO of the Mexican American College and Cultural Center in Texas; Ralph McCloud, Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. and Rev. Raymond Kemp, STL, a Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.


Auxiliary Bishop Martin D. Holley will preside over the Jan. 18 Mass at St. Aloysius

Why does one honor the person who, as the head of CCHD squandered money from Catholics on ACORN and other groups who work against the Catholic faith? Ralph McCloud has been the head for the last few years but money still flowed to these groups and to others. And to make matters worse, he takes no responsibility -- he says it is up to the bishops to approve.

It is bad enough that Catholic Charities of DC has to be a part of this but then when members of our own hierarchy are involved, such as Auxiliary Bishop Holley, it just adds insult to injury.

Maybe that is why it was not included in this week's Catholic Standard. It would have been another embarrassing situation, like when Archbishop Wuerl honored John Sweeney - AFL-CIO boss, who supports abortion and pro-gay lifestyle.

They continue to do this sort of stuff and expect us to give till it hurts!!!

To read the full story, click here.

Friday, January 22, 2010

March for Life

Today, is the March for Life.

Say a prayer for the unborn.
Say a prayer for the babies who have been aborted and their mothers.
Say a prayer for the cruel and callous politicians, esp. those who call themselves Catholic.
Say a prayer for those priests/religious that God will give them the strength to continue to speak out.
Say a payer for those priests/religious who support the murder of children.
Say a prayer for those who march today.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Traditional Latin Mass before the March for Life

A reader asked me to post this. I am more than happy to do so.

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Traditional Latin Mass Forma Extraordinaria
Will be offered preceding the March for Life at 8:00 a.m, Friday, January 22, 2010 St. Mary, Mother of God Church (Old Saint Mary’s) 727 Fifth Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20001

For the first time since Roe v. Wade, Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be offered in downtown Washington, D.C. prior to the March for Life. Please join us for holy Mass to prayerfully begin your day calling on our nation to provide protection for children in the womb.

The Mass offered will be a low Mass. Old Saint Mary’s church is located just south of H Street NW on 5th Street, just one block east of the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station. Use the Chinatown exit from the Metro station.

Please take this opportunity to forward this invitation to any out of town visitors you may be expecting for the March for Life. Special thanks to his Excellency Archbishop Donald Weurl for the provision of this newly offered Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Catholic Schools - Status

Well folks, with the announcement that St. Mark's in Hyattsville would merge with St. Camillus, it is time to try to recap what is happening.

OPEN - St. Jude's
OPEN - St. Catherine Laboure (at least for another year).
Closed and Merged: St. Hughes with St. Joseph in Beltsville.
Closed and Merged: St. Mark's (Hyattsville) with St. Camillus.
Unknown: St. Michael's in Ridge (Is working on raising a large amount of $$; I hope they make it).
Unknown: St. Jerome's**
Unknown: St. Michael's

(**Update 7am: I received word from a parent at St. Jerome's that they are have achieved 80% of their fundraising goal and have another major fundraiser in Feb. THEY WILL REMAIN OPEN! CONGRATS to the parents and supporters of St. J's. )

The schools that have a heavy number of student's who receive DC Opportunity Scholarships will probably merge/close within the next few years, unless there is some change in the make up of Congress. With the effective killing of the program (even with a valiant effort by the Archdiocese), this will be the death knell for some, if not all.

So, for all those who have their children in this program, or to all those who work in these schools, did you vote for the Most, Merciful Lord High Barack Obama (and the Democratic Congress). Is this the hope and change that you expected?

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Merger of St. Camillus & St. Mark's Elementary School

From the St. Camillus Parish Bulletin:

Dear school parents and parishioners,
We are writing to share exciting information about the future of Catholic education at St. Camillus. This is just a summary of a detailed report to parents made on Jan. 12.


This summer, St. Camillus School, in partnership with our neighbors at St. Mark's School in Hyattsville, will join our communities and resources to create a whole new entity, Saint Francis International School, to be located here at St. Camillus.

By forming a new school in partnership with St. Mark we will be able to continue the five-decade legacy of Catholic education that both communities have, and we will be able to transform our educational ministry in ways that neither of us could have done alone.

Here's how we reached this point.

We are both incredibly proud of the ministry that St. Camillus School has performed over the last 55 years. We truly believe in the power of Catholic education to change lives and that Catholic education is a vital part of our church’s mission. St. Camillus School was founded in 1954 to serve a burgeoning population, with record enrollments through the 1960’s. But since the 1970’s our area and our parish have gone through repeated demographic shifts. Over the years our school has had to adapt its mission and ministry to meet the challenge of providing Catholic education to the community. For instance we reduced the number of grades several times, we have added numerous programs, and 25 years ago we created an early childhood program.

Last fall, 14 parish schools in the Archdiocese of Washington, seven in Maryland, began a process of consulting with their communities because they face significant challenges to continued operation. These include some of our closest neighbors (St. Mark, St. Michael, St. Jerome, St. Hugh, St. Catherine Labouré, and St. Jude). These schools have had declining enrollment and face substantial budget deficits for which the parishes are responsible. With the economic recession many parishes are finding it difficult to subsidize their schools and the Archdiocese of Washington is unable to do so either.

Upon learning this we asked ourselves, “What does this mean for St. Camillus?” and started talking to some neighboring pastors. We quickly realized that St. Mark’s in particular is a school and parish very similar to ours. We also found the pastor and principal were quite willing and open to further discussions about how to improve Catholic education in both the communities of St. Mark's and St. Camillus.

Over the last few months we've met with experts in Catholic education from around the country, with the pastor and principal of St. Mark and with the staff of the archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office. As talks progressed and ideas came together we met with the parish councils, the finance councils, the school advisory boards and faculties of both St. Mark and St. Camillus. In December, we jointly presented the archdiocese with a full-blown proposal. The archdiocese has been encouraging and we are awaiting final approval of the plan that all of this work has produced.

Saint Francis International will begin operating in June 2010, with our Summer @ Saint Francis program, which will take place at the current St. Mark School building. In September, 2010, Saint Francis International School will open for the 2010-2011 school year here at St. Camillus. Our new school will continue to serve children age two through grade eight.

The new school will have a significantly higher enrollment than we do now, so you will see many upgrades to the school building over the next eight months. In March the current teachers from St. Camillus and St. Mark will have the opportunity to apply for positions in the new school. Over the course of the next eight months significant work will be done to create all of the elements to make Saint Francis International School the best Catholic school in our region.


We anticipate that Archbishop Donald Wuerl will quickly grant us permission to proceed, and we will begin pre-registration of current St. Camillus and St. Mark students for the 2010-2011 school year on Jan. 22. Four open houses are scheduled: Jan. 25 and 31 and Feb. 4 and 12. More information will be available soon at our school website: www.stcamillusschool.net.

We understand that this news may cause a bit of sadness or worry for some people. We urge you to place your trust in the Lord, as we have done with the belief that God’s hand is at work in this.


As we move forward, we invite you and all members of our community to get involved in the process of founding Saint Francis International School. There is much work to be done. If you are interested in helping please contact us.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Catholics Need Not Apply...

On the weekend of Martin Luther King's Holiday, Roman Catholics are treated like this by the Democrat running for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts'.

What's next by the Democratic Party?

Will they suggest that Catholics should not be involved in the health care field? Maybe they will ban Catholics from public office?

What they heck, Martha, since you have a limited understanding of the separation of church and state, why don't you go all the way and suggest that they should be put in religious ghettos.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Pro-Life Speaker Tonight - Support Haiti

Remember, this Friday at the Fr. Rosensteel Council (7:30pm) Knights of Columbus, Randall Terry will be speaking. They are located at 9707 Rosensteel Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (just off of Forest Glen Road -- near the Forest Glen Metro).

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Disaster in Haiti

Give to one of the many reputable charities such as Food for the Poor, the International Red Cross, and Catholic Relief Services.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Disaster in Haiti..what you can do...

By now, all of us have heard about the earthquake in Haiti. If you have been watching any of the major news channels, the devastation is terrible. It is a poor country, with many, many problems. This only turns a bad situation into a very bad one.

There have been reports that the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince and over 100 priests who were on retreat have died. Read more here.


What can you do?

As always, pray. Pray for those who have died. Pray for those who are living. Pray for those who are unable to contact loved ones.

Second, you can assist by your donations - money is always the best. Sending that half open bottle of aspirin or twenty year old bandages, does not really work. You can donate for immediate assistance (and a great deal will be needed), as well as, the long term.

I have contacted the Archdiocese to see if a special collection will be held this Sunday. I have not heard back.

However, this does not mean that they are not working on putting one together. If I do get word, I will post it here.

If you wish, you may give to one of the many reputable charities such as Food for the Poor, the International Red Cross, and Catholic Relief Services.

UPDATE (6:30am Thursday):

I did receive a reply from the Archdiocese at 11:45pm Wednesday evening, on the issue of having a special collection for Haiti. The response: "I’m sorry, but we can’t respond to anonymous emails."

UPDATE (1:30pm Thursday)

Well, the Archdiocese has posted a news release stating that there will be a special collection and also directing donations to Catholic Relief Services.

Looking for a Job...

Here is a very interesting job posting:

Langley Park Parish Partnership Coordinator
Job Description

The Langley Park Parish Partnership is comprised of the Catholic Community of Langley Park, St. Camillus, St. Elizabeth, and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic churches. We work together as a multicultural, interparish community rooted in shared faith and mutual, just relationships. Each community in this partnership aims to support one another by sharing their gifts of Faith, Spirituality and Worship as well as helping each other with earthly needs as brothers and sisters in Christ.


The Partnership Coordinator works to support the four pastors, the volunteer Partnership Steering Committee, and each parish’s Partnership Team in their efforts to strive towards the mission statement as written above. As a team, the Coordinator and these parties develop and implement goals for the Parish Partnership. The Coordinator is responsible for maintaining communication with all four church communities, assisting in planning liturgical, service, and community-building events, and matching volunteers with service opportunities. He or she helps develop relationships across the parish communities. He or she also helps identify additional needs in each community and how they can be addressed through the partnership.

Interesting that I did not see it advertized in The Catholic Standard but maybe it was in the Spanish newspaper.

Is this just simply a matter of better off parishes looking to help one another? Or is this something deeper?

Your thoughts?

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Remember, this Friday at the Fr. Rosensteel Council (7:30pm) Knights of Columbus, Randall Terry will be speaking. They are located at 9707 Rosensteel Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (just off of Forest Glen Road -- near the Forest Glen Metro).

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Pro-Life? Living in the US? Then you must be a Terrorist!

Once again, the Obama administration slaps all those who are pro-life in the face again. It seems that the TSA nominee considers us terrorists. How nice. How special.

I wonder if the USCCB, and esp. Archbishop Wuerl, will come out as strongly about this as they have on the health care bill and allowing illegal aliens to stay in the US.

Here is the video link.

Hat tip to American Papist.

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Remember, this Friday at the Fr. Rosensteel Council (7:30pm) Knights of Columbus, Randall Terry will be speaking. They are located at 9707 Rosensteel Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (just off of Forest Glen Road -- near the Forest Glen Metro).

Monday, January 11, 2010

This Friday - A Pro-Life Event!

This Friday, at the Fr. Rosensteel Council - Knights of Columbus Hall, Randall Terry of Operation Rescue will speak at 7:30pm. He may be controversial, and some may not like his methods, but you cannot say that he has not devoted his life to the pro-life movement.

The location is 9707 Rosensteel Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (just off of Forest Glen Road -- near the Forest Glen Metro).

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Pro-Life Speaker This Weekend in Silver Spring

Someone from the Fr. Rosensteel Council - Knights of Columbus must be a regular follower of this blog because I get emails from him on various events -- and I am more than happy to them and post from other Councils too! (I won't discriminate here.)

It seems that the Fr. Rosensteel Council, as part of their gearing up for the Right to Life March this month is bringing in Joe Scheidler.

Mr. Scheidler is the National Director of the Pro-Life League and you can read about him here.

He will be at the Council this SUNDAY at 5:30pm. The location is 9707 Rosensteel Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (just off of Forest Glen Road -- near the Forest Glen Metro).

Next Friday, they will have Randall Terry, of Operation Rescue at 7:30pm.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Married Couples to be penalized in Health Care Reform? Please say it ain't so USCCB!

Well, the health care reform touted/encouraged by the USCCB (and Archbishop Wuerl) may hit married couples the hardest. It may be cheaper for people to live together and get health care, than to get married.

I wonder if this is what they envisioned.

Maybe it is time for them to come out against this entire boondoggle.

Click here to read more.

With Catholics like Vincent Gray, who needs enemies?

According to the Washington Informer:

D.C. City Council Chair Vincent Gray hailed two “historic bills” signed last week as a “holiday gift” to District residents. While we agree that the signing of the same-sex marriage act and the District’s appropriation bill signed by President Barack Obama, reflect a new day for the independence of the District of Columbia and the civil rights of its residents, we believe the “gifts” District residents want and have specifically asked for also include jobs, affordable housing, health care and quality education.

Vincent Gray is listed as a Catholic but with Catholics like him and Murial Bowser, who needs enemies.

You can read more about it at Aufer a Nobis.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Update: Montgomery County and Pregnancy Centers

Our friends over at Restore DC Catholicism have posted a number of updates on the suppression by the Montgomery County Council of Pregnancy Centers.

Take a look when you get a chance.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A New Blog...for the Blog List

Periodically, I like to add blogs that I find interesting. I may not always agree with the author, but I do find them interesting. Here is one that I do enjoy visiting periodically: The Catholic Cartoon Blog.

Paul Nichols is the creator of the blog. According to him, he creates:

Cartoons based on happenings in the Catholic Church, or in the world at large from a Catholic viewpoint.

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Poll on Catholic Education


Welcome back. I hope that everyone had a good couple of days off. I spent a great deal of time cleaning out old files, etc.

Since there was much discussion in late November/early December on the contracts with District of Columbia, I decided to post a poll on this issue.
Although unscientific, and rather small, it was interesting that the majority supported the idea. Maybe this is something the Archdiocese should contemplate.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Breakfast at the Knight's of Columbus

A reader asked me to post this:

All You Can Eat Family Breakfast Sunday
January 3rd
8 AM to11:30 AM
Proceeds Benefit the Seminarian Fund
Knights of Columbus ,

Father Rosensteel Council, 9707 Rosensteel Ave. Silver Spring MD
(near Georgia Ave. and Forest Glen Ave. -- just off the Beltway)

Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Pancakes, Cereals, coffee, juice and more

This will take place the 1st Sunday of every month.